Adolorato
by MythicElf
Summary: Sequel to The Cost of a Codex page. Ezio is nowhere to be found, and it's worrying Leonardo. Unrequited fluff.


**A/N: As it says in the summary, this is the sequel to The Cost of a Codex Page. I wasn't going to make a sequel, but susiekitten gave me an idea that I thought was cool. Thank you ^^**

…

**Leonardo was distracted as he worked on the latest page, taking a full 20 minutes to decode it instead of the usual ten. He refused to see the blame as his, though—whenever he encountered a particularly long of difficult word his mind you wander back to that wonderful, wonderful kiss, to Ezio's warm lips, hands, **_**tongue…**_

**He was doing it again. It felt the slightest bit pathetic, daydreaming about the assassin like this. But, for what it was worth, it was his **_**occupation **_**to dream. He relied on dreaming for almost everything. How long had he dreamed about this…**

**Before he slipped into another relapse of Ezio-centered thoughtshe decided to go for a walk. He picked up the page as well, "Perhaps I will meet Ezio along the way."**

_**Dio, **_**he hoped so. Something in the back of his head reminded him that meeting Ezio in public would not be a good idea, but he ignored it. This was just too good an opportunity to pass up.**

**With that he hurried out of the workshop, his red cape fluttering gracefully behind him. He made his way up to Ponte di Rialto, stopping briefly to observe a flock of birds in flight and the way water rippled around the gondolas under the large bridge. He made a note in the back of his mind that it would be nice to sketch these things and kept walking.**

**Before long he found himself at the place where he and Ezio had come off the ship from Forlì. He smiled to himself at the memory of the little wooden doll, and looked in his pouch to see that he had brought enough money with him to purchase it.**

**Figure in hand, he strolled among the market. Minstrels with their lutes stood at every corner and pillar. He grimaced at the cacophony of off-key notes and singing they produced, thought of ways to turn them into an organized chorus of sound.**

**Over the course of the day he saw many things, much inspiration to be used for later projects and ideas. But now he was on his way home. Venezia was a beautiful place at this time—the sun didn't exactly know whether it was supposed to be light or dark, and the lamps were lit among the streets and canals. The shadows were a mixture of blues and burgundies (a beautiful color to paint, he thought), and the overall ambiance of the city was calm and serene.**

**As he moved to open the door of his workshop his stiff fingers uncurled from around the Codex page he had worked on earlier that day. The thought occurred to him that he had spent the entire day (well, since around noon) without seeing, hearing, or thinking about Ezio. While he was glad that the **_**assassino**_** had kept himself out of the heralds' announcements, and he knew that it was necessary to Ezio's survival that he stay hidden, it unnerved him that he had not seen the assassin since around eleven that morning.**

**Ezio wouldn't leave Venezia without him, would he? Or, at least without letting him know? A cold sense of dread fell heavily into the pit of his stomach and he swallowed around the lump in his throat. Perhaps… perhaps that kiss had just been something to cheer him up, to get his mind off of the painting he had due in a week's time. Perhaps Ezio hadn't meant anything by it…**

**His eyes stung with the threat of tears and he opened the door to his workshop, squeezing shut said eyes and hanging his head. He wandered about the workshop by memory, placing the page and figurine on the table, passing the easel where his unfinished painting lay, just barely skirting around the worktable where **_**other **_**commissions piled up… until he walked right into a warm chest.**

**He looked up, eyes watery, mouth slightly turned down, brows scrunched into an expression on fearful sadness, into the smiling face of Ezio Auditore. A smiling face that quickly turned into one of worry and concern.**

"_**Amore,**_** what's the matter?" he asked, taking Leonardo's face into his warm hands.**

**Leonardo opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. Now, standing before Ezio, all his worrying seemed so needless and unfounded and just plain **_**stupid. **_**He took in a shaky breath and was about to utter an apology when all the pent up worry and disappointment and fear broke, and he began to cry.**

**Ezio was even more worried now, as he pulled Leonardo into a firm, reassuring hug. What on **_**earth **_**has the gall to make Leonardo—**_**his**_** Leonardo—cry? Whatever it was, it wasn't going to get away with it (A/N: Oedipus Rex, anyone?)**

**They just stood there for neither knew how long, Leonardo crying out of frustration and Ezio thinking murderous thought to whoever had cause it, When the sobs reduced to sniffs and slight whimpers, Ezio held Leonardo at arm's length to ask, "Leo, what's cause you such grief?"**

**Leonardo's heart jumped a little when Ezio called him 'Leo'. It was more than a nickname—it was possessive, a sign the he was **_**Ezio's**_** Leo. He smiled through the tear tracks on his cheeks. "**_**Non importa,**_**" he said, his voice wobbling slightly. "I was afraid of something when there was no need to be."**

"**You're sure of this?" Ezio asked, ochre eyes still slightly concerned.**

"_**Sì,"**_** Leonardo sounded more confident this time, now that his fears had subsided. "I finished the page you gave me and wanted to give it to you. But I couldn't find you anywhere. I thought… I though you had left."**

"**Leonardo," Ezio sighed, pulling him into another hug. "I would never leave you. You are very dear to me. I was only at Santa Maria della Visitazione, there was something there I had to retrieve."**

**He pulled a large stone circle out of his robes and placed it on the table. It brandished a small black vial of some sort.**

**Leonardo, having forgotten his episode, moved over to the table. "Oh, how exciting~"**

**Ezio crossed his arms as he watched Leonardo fawn over the seal. God**_**,**_** he was so adorable…**

…

**A/N: yes, Leo is very adorable^^**

**Who caught my Oedipus Rex joke? If you did, I give out candies! Candies go to reviewers and smart people who liked my reference to Greek literature! XD**


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